WU matters. WU talks. Wrap-Up Wintersemester 2025
Big Questions, Smart Answers, and Plenty to Think About
From geopolitical turbulence and artificial intelligence in banking to pensions, property prices, migration, energy transitions, ethics in leadership, and global hunger: the WU matters. WU talks.-series once again proved that the most pressing issues of our time are best tackled through open, evidence-based discussion and occasionally with a touch of dry academic humor.
Between October and December 2025, eight events brought leading experts from academia, policy, business, and international organizations to the Campus WU (and screens everywhere via live stream). If you missed any of them or want to revisit the debates, we’ve got you covered.
Quo vadis, Donald Trump? Taking stock a year into the second term.
15 October 2025 | Language: German
One year into Donald Trump’s second term, this opening event wasted no time diving into global uncertainty. Harald Oberhofer (WU Vienna & WIFO) delivered a data-driven keynote on economic and geopolitical disruption. In discussion with Eric Frey (Senior Editor at DER STANDARD) and Velina Tchakarova (Founder of FACE, geopolitical analyst), the panel examined what Trump’s presidency means for democracy, markets, and Europe, and why volatility might be the new normal.
🤓📖👉 Read the blog recap or watch the video 🍿📽️👉
🤖 Artificial Banking. Will AI soon decide on my loan?
Language: German
“Dear AI, please give me that loan!” Easier said than approved. Kurt Hornik (WU Vienna) and Karin Turner-Hrdlicka (Director General at the ECB) explained how algorithms are reshaping banking supervision and lending decisions. A high-powered discussion with Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller (CEO, Erste Bank Österreich) and Michael Höllerer (CEO, Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien), moderated by Stefan Pichler (WU Vienna), tackled transparency, bias, and the uncomfortable truth that AI can make mistakes; just faster.
🤓📖👉 Read the blog recap or watch the video🍿📽️👉
⚡ Clean Energy. Local approaches and globally aligned action.
29 October 2025 | Language: English
How do we build an energy system that is clean, secure, and economically viable? Kavita Surana, Head of WU’s Institute for Data, Energy, and Sustainability, explored how innovation, policy, and investment can turn the energy transition into a driver of local prosperity. Moderated by Axel Polleres (WU Vienna), the lecture connected global climate goals with very real infrastructure challenges.
🤓📖👉 Read the blog recap or watch the video 🍿📽️👉
👵 Retiring at age 75? What pension reforms do we need?
5 November 2025 | Language: German
Longer lives, fewer workers, and many uncomfortable policy questions. Martin Halla (WU Vienna) laid out the economic realities of pension systems under demographic pressure. Joined by Hanno Lorenz (Agenda Austria) and Barbara Schuster (Momentum Institute), and moderated by Karin Heitzmann (WU Vienna), the discussion made one thing clear: postponing reform won’t make the math disappear.
🤓📖👉 Read the blog recap or watch the video 🍿📽️👉
🏠 125 Years of Property Prices in Vienna. Is living in Vienna still affordable?
12 November 2025 | Language: German
Using a century-spanning dataset of real estate transactions, Markus Lampe (WU Vienna), Kilian Rieder, and Karin Wagner (both OeNB) traced Vienna’s housing prices since 1900. The panel, including wohnfonds_wien, housing associations, developers, and financial regulators, debated affordability, regulation, and financial stability, expertly moderated by Stefanie Peer (WU Vienna). Spoiler: the myth of “cheap Vienna” didn’t go entirely unchallenged.
🤓📖👉 Read the blog recap or watch the video 🍿📽️👉
🌍 Mythbusting Migration. No sustainable development without migration.
Language: English
Few topics generate more heat – and less light – than migration. Milda Žilinskaitė (WU Vienna) delivered a keynote that dismantled common myths and reframed migration as a core component of sustainable development. With insights from Jesús Crespo Cuaresma (WU Vienna), Jason Gagnon (development economist), Aida Hajro (University of Leeds), and Judith Kohlenberger (WU Vienna), the discussion replaced fear with facts.
🤓📖👉 Read the blog recap or watch the video 🍿📽️👉
🏆 Markets. Power. Ethics. WU Manager of the Year 2025.
10 December 2025 | Language: German
Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom AG, was named WU Manager of the Year 2025, and used his keynote to reflect on leadership, innovation, and corporate responsibility. A discussion with Christopher Lettl (WU Vienna), Monika Kircher, and Franz Schellhorn (Agenda Austria), moderated by Patricia Klarner (WU Vienna), explored where economic power ends and ethical responsibility begins.
🤓📖👉 Read the recap or watch the video 🍿📽️👉
🍽️ The Hunger Emergency. Why we must act now
17 December 2025 | Language: English
Closing the year on a sobering note, Arif Husain (UN World Food Programme) addressed the growing global hunger crisis amid shrinking donor support. Introduced by Gerlinde Fellner-Röhling (WU Vienna) and moderated by Simon Heß (WU Vienna), the event highlighted policy options and urgent actions to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations.
🍿📽️👉 Watch on YouTube 🍿📽️👉
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🔜 Coming up in January 2026
Quick Quid. Language, lending, and loan sharks.
21 January 2026 | Language: English 📌 Save the date and stay tuned!
How does language shape debt, lending, and financial vulnerability in times of crisis? Ursula Lutzky (WU Vienna) will explore the words we use when borrowing, advising, or warning, and why they matter more than we think. With discussants from WIFO, the OeNB, and WU Vienna, this event promises sharp insights into financial literacy, discourse, and power.